Widely Used by Indonesian Shamans, This Plant Can Be Transformed into Expensive Perfume
The image of kemenyan, long associated with mystical and traditional ritual atmospheres, is now shifting towards high-end lifestyle products. Through innovation from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), this commodity has been successfully processed into a premium perfume named “Styrax Perfume”.
Senior Researcher at the Centre for Applied Botany Research BRIN, Aswandi, revealed that Indonesia has so far exported kemenyan in raw resin form at relatively low value to dozens of countries.
“We have a potential of IDR 1 trillion per year that has not been optimally processed domestically. With extraction technology that is not too expensive, we can transform the resin into essential oil (Styrax oil). If the resin price is IDR 200,000 per kilogram (kg), the price of kemenyan oil on the market can reach at least IDR 5 million per kg,” said Aswandi in his statement, quoted on Sunday (26/4/2026).
According to him, the value added from processing kemenyan is very significant, even before reaching the final product stage.
“The comparison is very profitable; it only takes about 2 kg of kemenyan to produce 1 litre of oil. That’s just the oil. If we process it further into ready-to-use perfume, the value added can reach 100 times per gram,” he continued.
Aswandi explained that Styrax Perfume was developed as a distinctive Nusantara fragrance identity capable of competing in the global market. The product embraces three main pillars: first, better, and different, while also being the first domestically researched natural kemenyan perfume to be patented.
“Kemenyan provides a very distinctive Indonesian aroma, or ‘very Nusantara’. This is our identity. Compared to expensive foreign branded perfumes, the aroma quality and longevity are no less. This is a different (unique) product because it won’t be found in any perfume in the world except from Indonesia,” he clarified.
Furthermore, this innovation is not only aimed at commercial value but also supports downstream processing programmes and village-based economic development. Increasing demand for processed kemenyan products is seen to preserve forest ecosystems, particularly in the Lake Toba area.
In addition, local communities who have long depended on kemenyan forest products have the potential to gain higher economic value through the development of processing industries at the village level.
“Through this perfume, we preserve the forest, maintain the ecosystem, and build community welfare from the villages. Our raw materials are abundant and there are no issues. Now is the time to prove that the kemenyan aroma is not as scary as imagined, but rather an exotic aromatherapy luxury,” Aswandi concluded.